Truchard,
keynote speaker at the NIWeek technical
conference here in Austin, TX this week, repeatedly emphasized the concept of multi-core
processing technology, saying the biggest and most important green
projects would be enabled by massively parallel computing efforts. He added
NI's advancements in its graphical programming software would help that
green effort because NI software is increasingly being targeted at multi-core
computing.

Truchard
told approximately 2,700 engineers at the keynote NI's goal is "to do for
test and measurement what the spreadsheet did for financial analysis." He
added the company also wants "to do for the embedded world what the PC did
for the desktop."

Truchard
saved his most important message for the worldwide green effort, recommending
ways "we can be more energy efficient" and "more environmentally sensitive."

Other
speakers at the keynote echoed Truchard's message. Thirumalaichelvam
Subramanium, founder and chief technical officer of Chiller Energy Management
Systems, showed how his company used CompactRIO software to cut energy usage in
its chillers by 30 percent, largely as a result of employing CompactRIO software.
Truchard added large parallel processing efforts could also help enable
complex simulations that might lead to the eventual development of a fusion Tokamak.

NI
engineers at the keynote speech hammered home the message that the company's
latest version of LabVIEW software, known as LabVIEW 8.6, makes it easier for
engineers to develop applications designed for multi-core processors. LabVIEW
8.6 offers more features designed for multi-core, including an improved math
engine and new algorithms. The new version also includes special accommodations
for design with FPGAs and wireless technologies.

An Intel
Corp. executive supported NI's multi-core position on stage. Jonathon Luse,
director of marketing for Intel's embedded group, told the audience multi-core is inevitable and reminded them programming of such devices
will not be easy. "Programming and creating software is a heck of a lot more
difficult on multi-core than it is on single-core," he said. "But in the
future, multi-core will be the way to go."

NI engineers at the keynote also
told attendees the company has introduced a single-board version of its
CompactRIO embedded systems software.

The keynote event served as the
kickoff for NIWeek, an event that features 230 technical sessions, 100 show
exhibitors and more than 2,700 attendees. The company said this year's number
of registered attendees at the show has already exceeded last year's by 23 percent.

It's a shame that is has taken so long for every industry to learn that elegance in design is more important that brute force. In this case it is elegance in power management. As mobile device power demand eats up 1% of the world's energy generations, it only makes sense. To put that into perspective, smelting all the world's aluminum eats up 5% of global energy, 1% is enormous.

I visited the "greenest" building in Chicago recently and realized, it could be more green. Most of its energy still comes from the infrastructure, despite its multitudes of solar panels and geothermal harvesting. If that is the best we can do, we have a long way to go. Their call should be a little louder.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.